Hamilton audio-visual art collective, ablockparentcommunity, led by producer Rob Liston and visual artist JD Howell, asked me to develop an ultra-minimal new site for their project. The design reflects abpc’s focus on the work: imagery and sound that invite introspection and an embrace of the subtlety and beauty of the things we find around us.

In their own words:

ablockparentcommunity is a multimedia art project which attempts to explore the undercurrents of community living through the juxtaposition of musical landscapes and audio-visual snapshots. Providing a seductive mix of electronic percussion and organic melodies, producers Rob Liston and JD Howell take the audience on a soundtracked journey down Main Street Everywhere, highlighting the extraordinary within the ordinary, the beautiful within the mundane. Look a little closer. Listen a little longer. We live where you live.

The site required a way to showcase the work of the group without the need for an overly complex system of navigation. My experience of the group’s work is that they are always interested in what’s going on now, not in cataloguing their past efforts or focussing on what others have to say. Therefore, JD’s design offered a perfect, compelling insight into their process. Images may offer a diverse view of a variety of subjects, or focus on a specific theme. There may be instrumental, organic songs alongside hip-hop remixes, or just one song looping, reflecting the thread of ‘attractive repetition’ in ablockparentcommunity’s art.

To realize the design technically, I built a two-part system. All content is managed by the group using XML files which describe the content they would like to display at any given time. This data is then loaded into Flash, and is used to populate the interface that you see. Images are loaded at random from a small, constantly updated selection, and fade in and out of the view over time. Likewise, songs are presented in a simple media player which selects a song at random on launch. Besides these central elements, the site offers a simple way to get in touch, and a brief news feed, also updated via XML. The overall effect offers a minimal aesthetic which communicates graceful elegance, and invites the viewer to experience something different…yet familiar.